Restoring a new type of Yoga practice
The power of not moving.
Restorative Yoga is not a new thing, but it is becoming more widespread with Restorative Classes even popping up on the schedules of chain gyms around the UK.
But what’s the point of attending a Restorative Class when you can just lay down in your own home?
A taught Restorative Yoga Session will offer a time, space and place which is scheduled in your diary for rest. This is almost the most important part. When planning a home practice, there has to be a commitment the practice itself. You have to be dedicated to letting go of the need to get on with toy clearing, floor sweeping, washing up, sorting out and so on. This all has wait until after. This is a tough boundary to hold, really tough.
Booking into a session means that your time is protected from the distractions of your other roles. This is the part that is very useful if you find it hard to maintain boundaries around your needs and your roles.
Being able to switch off, is easier for a lot of people when they are not in their own home. Practicing in a neutral environment can also help to aid the wind down effect.
As a teacher and practitioner of Restorative Yoga, it has taken many hours of trial and error to explore and offer a set up for both my clients and myself that will suit the needs of the present moment. It takes time to gain this awareness and a dedication to the practice that just isn’t there if you’re only doing it once a year.
When was the last time you had a dedicated Restorative practice? What is your barrier?
Restorative Yoga does require a lot of equipment, and even being creative with alternatives takes time and effort to ensure that the ideal set up can be met, that would perfectly suit the body in need. This is entirely possible in a home practice and certainly something that I encourage for my students, but being able to be guided in the initial start up of this type of practice if it is new to you is a good idea.
Here is the equipment list that I set up for a single pose that I set up for myself and a client this week:
4 round bolsters
6 blankets + 2 for covering the body in the pose
3 cork blocks
1 sofa seat pad
1 yoga mat
+ an eye pillow
An example of a Restorative Pose Set up. Equipment used (left) the set up (right).
During the Restorative Yoga Sessions that I hold at my home, the only thing that my clients need is the willingness to do Restorative Yoga. My skill in this area is to manipulate your nervous system into relaxation, creating an overall balancing effect in the body.
It is part of our survival mechanism for the nervous system to switch into sympathetic dominance (fight mode) in an immediate flood, and this is what will give our bodies the ability to get out of danger.
However, if you living with a constant perceived sense of danger then this ‘fight mode’ state never gets switched off, and could be the root cause of anxiety, sleep issues and general uneasiness.
If you are interested to explore a new type of practice, I offer Private and small group Restorative Yoga sessions from my home in Essex, UK. More details can be found on my website www.wendycohenyoga.com/restorative-yoga